Vandalproof,concealed anchor for plumbing fixture



April 1969 E. L. MORRIS 3,438,065

VANDALPROOF, CONCEALED ANCHOR FOR PLUMBING FIXTURE Filed July 22, 1966[NI/EN 1'02.

5 j 5021. L. Moe/21s '3." r/ B 7 M,M

107- raelvs 5/3.

United States Patent 0 3,438,065 VANDALPROOF, CONCEALED ANCHOR FORPLUMBING FIXTURE Earl L. Morris, 1501 N. Cloister Road, Whittier, Calif.90603 Filed July 22, 1966, Ser. No. 567,151

Int. Cl. E03c 1/00 US. Cl. 4191 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In avandalproof, concealed anchor, plumbing fixture for use with astructural partition having a port therethrough, the fixture having arearward face and a fluid passage therethrough, the passage having anenlarged bore with its axis perpendicular to the rearward face, aunitary anchor element including a tubular forward body portion receivedin the enlarged bore of the fixture when the body extends through thepartition port and having oppositely extending anchor flange portionsbetween the forward body and a rear supply portion, means for lockingthe fixture against rotation with respect to the partition, andconcealed but externally accessible locking means carried by the fixturecooperating with the tubular body portion to hold the fixture againstaxial movement with respect to the anchor element.

I In general, the present invention relates to a vandalproof,concealed-anchor plumbing fixture for use with a structural partitionhaving a port therethrough whereby the rigidity of the partition isefiectively utilized to prevent unauthorized removal of the fixture bytwisting or pulling. More particularly, the present invention pertainsto a compact, lightweight and inexpensive device which is free fromnumerous adjustable parts and which is attachable to a partition orhollow standard for use with various plumbing fixtures such as showerheads, soap "dispensers, water temperature control valves and the like;it is extremely useful, particularly when installed in publicinstitutions, schools, air terminals, railway stations and the likesubject to vandalism, as the fixtures cannot be removed without the useof tools or cutting devices, except by someone having knowledge of themanner in which the parts of the fixture cooperate.

It is well known that plumbing fixtures, such as shower heads, wheninstalled in institutions or public places for the convenience of thegeneral public, are likely to be tampered with or twisted off orunscrewed and carried away by vandals. Losses so caused represent largesums of money and the replacement of the fixtures often greatly exceedstheir monetary value or the goodwill generated by making them availableto the public. The invention considered herein is easily installed by alicensed plumber, but by the use of certain concealed cooperativelocking arrangements it is virtually impossible for a vandal unequippedwith tools, or the knowledge of the placement of the anchor devices, toremove the plumbing fixtures.

Prior plumbing fixtures directed to this problem of vandalism havegenerally been secured to the wall or partition of the plumbing unit,such as a shower unit, from the rear so that they could not be tamperedwith. It was therefore necessary to have access to the unit from therear to repair or to remove the fixtures. Since such plumbing fixturesare normally mounted on shower units which are either back-to-back orare circular and it is very difiicult or impossible to get behind thepartition of the unit after it had been installed, it was necessary toprovide access panels for the fixtures at substantial added expense. Thefixture contemplated by the present invention permits external accessfor the securement of the fixture to tighten it in place, or to remove adamaged fixture and replace it, or to replace a fixture with anothermodel or kind of fixture. Thus, no access panel is required.

An object of the invention is to provide a vandalproof plumbing fixtureincluding cooperating elements which prevent the fixture from beingreadily twisted oil or unscrewed from its associated pipe or conduit bya vandal.

Another object is to provide a wall mounted plumbing fixture whichcooperates with a concealed anchor element and a wall or structuralpartition to discourage and prevent unauthorized removal of the fixture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a virtually vandalproofplumbing fixture wherein the rigidity of the wall or structuralpartition on which the fixture is mounted is utilized in preventingunauthorized removal.

A further object is to provide a form of vandalproof plumbing fixturewherein the shape of the fixture and of the structural partition onwhich the fixture is mounted are utilized to prevent twisting oil orunscrewing of the fixture.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following descriptionof an illustrative embodiment shown in the appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of one of the embodiments of this invention, ininstalled position, a portion being in vertical section.

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken along the plane II-II.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the plane IlI-Ill.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section of a modified form of plumbing fixture.

The main elements embraced by the present invention comprise astructural panel or wall member, generally indicated at It, a rearwardlydisposed anchor element indicated at 2 and a plumbing fixture 3 (theprecise illustrated embodiment showing a shower head attached thereto).Initially, a suitable opening or aperture 10 is formed in the partitionand the anchor element and its associated piping is first installed fromthe rear of the partition.

As illustrated, the anchor element 2 is unitary and has a forwardlyextending tubular body portion 11, a rear fluid supply portion 12 andtwo pairs of laterally and oppositely extending anchor flange portions131 lying in a plane transverse to the axis of the tubular portion 11and positioned between the forward body 11 and the rear supply portion12. One pair of the anchor flange portions 13 extend vertically whileone pair extend horizontally to provide reinforcement and stability tothe fixture. An open-ended fluid channel 14- extends through the tubularbody and the fluid supply port. Means are provided on the fluid supplyportion for connecting one or more supply conduits to such a channel; asindicated, such means may comprise the internally threaded open end 15adapted to threadedly receive a fluid supply pipe 16.

Means are provided on the horizontally extending anchor flan e portions13 for engaging headed fastening means whereby the anchor element may beattached to the partition 1. As best shown in FIG. 3, the flange 13 maybe provided with internally threaded bore 17 adapted to receive theconnecting elements 18, such elements being illustrated as filister headcap screws.

The plumbing fixture 3 includes a bore 21 adapted to slidably encompassand sealingly fit the forward body portion 11 of the anchor element. Insome instances it is desirable that the forward tubular body portion 11has a forward section of smaller diameter than the rearward section (asillustrated) whereupon the bore 21 is similarly stepped; a shoulder orinclined face between the sections of different diameter acts as a stopand additional seal. Moreover, the forward tubular body portion of theanchor element may be provided with a recess adapted to receive and holdan O-ring or other sealing ring 27 which insures a waterproof,pressure-proof seal. The bore 21 is in communication with an outlet port22 adapted to threadedly receive either a shower fixture such as isshown at 23, or other device such as a soap dispenser, depending uponthe character of the fluid being supplied to the entire plumbingfixture.

The plumbing fixture 3 is also provided with a flange portion 24presenting a rearward face 25, such face including rearwardly openingrecesses 28. These recesses are adapted to snugly receive and cover theheads of the cap screws on other headed fastening elements, as bestshown in FIG. 3, when said rearward face 25 is pressed against the faceof the partition 1. Cooperation of the headed fastening elements withthe recesses 28 prevents the fixture 3 from being rotated.

Further means are provided for preventing ready removal of the fixture.The flange 24 is preferably provided with one or more radially extendingthreaded bores, such as 30, each of said bores being adapted to receivea set screw or the like whereby the set screws may be placed inengagement and forcible contact with the body portion of the unitaryanchor element. After being locked into position, the threaded lbOIeS 30may be capped with a cementing material so as to completely conceal thefastening elements. In this manner, the fixture is held against axialmovement with respect to the tubular body.

From the description and the drawings, it will be seen that there hasbeen provided a very simple, easily installed combination of elementswhereby cooperation of the elements with a structural partition isinsured (thereby adding to the rigidity and stability of the entireassembly) and that portion of the fixture which extends into view isrigidly connected to an anchor element by means which are not obvious tocasual inspection. As a result, vandalism is defeated. The fixturecannot be removed by rotation nor by axial movement since there iscooperation between the concealed unitary anchor element and thefixture.

As previously indicated, the rear portion of the anchor element may beformed as a T so as to be able to receive supplies of fluids fromdilferent conduits and the exact fixture attached to the body 3 may alsovary. All changes and modifications coming within the scope of theappended claims are embraced thereby.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified form of the invention mounted on acylindrical standard or column 33 which constitutes a structuralpartition. The illustrated column 33 is double-walled, including aninner column wall 32 and an outer column wall or shell 31. The outerwall 31 may be integral with the inner wall 32 which contains suitablewater lines (not shown) or the outer wall 31 may be separate with theinner wall 32 defining a soap tank. In either case one or more plumbingfixtures 38 such as soap dispensers or shower heads may be supported onthe column 33. In general, for each fixture 38 a two-part anchor element34 extends forwardly through an aperture or opening 36 in the column 33and is connected to the fixture. The rear of each fixture 38 has aconcave cvlindrical shape to conform to the convex cylindrical column sothat the fixture cannot rotate while it is held against the column.

More particularly, the anchor element 34 shown in FIG. 4, includes arear sleeve part 48 having a forward internally threaded connectorportion 50 and a rearwardly extending tubular portion 52. The rearsleeve part 48 is secured to the column 33 with the connector portion 50extending through the opening 36. In this regard, the rear sleeve part48 also includes a flange portion 56 that extends around the outside ofthe connector portion 50. The flange portion 56 abuts and is secured tothe inside of the inner wall 32 of the column 33 as by means of brazing.The outer end of the connector portion t) extends only a short distanceoutwardly of the inner wall 32 to permit assembly of the inner wallwithin the outer wall 31 after the sleeve parts 48 are secured in place.The anchor element 34 also includes a forward part 40 having a forwardlyextending tubular body portion 42, an enlarged threaded intermediateportion 44 which threads into the connector portion 50, and a reartubular portion 46 which is slidably and sealingly received in the rearportion 52 of the sleeve part 34. A seal may be provided as by means ofan O-ring disposed in an annular groove around the rear portion 46 ofthe forward part 40. An open-ended fluid channel 58 extends through thetwo parts 40, 48.

The fixture 38 includes a bore 60 adapted to slidably receive andsealingly fit the forward body portion 42 of the front part 40. AnO-ring 62 is provided in an annular groove around the body portion 42.The bore 60 is in communication with an outlet port 64 adapted toreceive a device such as a shower head 66. If inner wall 32 defines asoap tank, the fixture may be a push-button type of dispenser. Thefixture 38 is also provided with a flange portion 68 presenting arearward face 70, which face defines a surface that is a section of avertical circular cylinder. The face '70 is adapted to snugly mate withthe circular cylindrical outer surface of the outer wall 31 of thecolumn 33 when the fixture 38 is pressed rearwardly against thepartition. The cooperation of the concave face 70 with the mating convexouter surface of the column 33 prevents the fixture 38 from beingrotated. The fixture 38 may be held against axial movement with respectto the body portion 42 in a manner similar to that by which the fixture3 is held against axial movement, i.e., by use of concealed set screwsin radially extending threaded bores.

I claim:

1. A vandalproof, concealed anchor plumbing fixture for use with astructural partition having a port therethrough, comprising:

a plumbing fixture having a rearward face and a fluid passage throughsaid fixture, said passage including an enlarged bore with its axisperpendicular to said face and opening in said face;

a unitary anchor element having a forward tubular body portion, a rearfluid supply portion and laterally and oppositely extending anchorflange portions between said forward body and rear supply portions, saidtubular body being slidably and sealingly received in the enlarged boreof the fixture when said body extends through a port in a partition withsaid anchor flange portions in contact with the rear face of suchpartition;

headed fastening means adapted to extend through a partition to engage,position and hold said anchor element with respect to such partition;

rearwardly opening recesses in the rear face of the fixture to snuglyreceive and cover the heads of said fastening means and lock the fixtureagainst rotation, and concealed locking means carried by the fixture andcooperating with the tubular body to hold the fixture against axialmovement with respect to the anchor element.

2. A vandalproof plumbing fixture as stated in claim 1, wherein thelocking means includes a flange provided with said rearward face; aradially extending internally threaded bore in said flange communicatingwith the enlarged bore in said fixture; and a set screw in said threadedbore and in forcible contact with the body portion of the anchorelement.

3. A vandalproof, concealed anchor plumbing fixture for use with astructural partition having a port therethrough, comprising:

a plumbing fixture having a rearward face and a fluid passage throughsaid fixture, said passage including an enlarged bore with its axisperpendicular to said face and open at said face;

an anchor element having a forward tubular body portion, a rear fluidsupply portion, and an anchor flange 6 portion between said forward bodyand said rear fines a concave cylindrical surface adapted to mate withsupply portions, said tubular body portion being slida complementaryconvex cylindrical outer surface of the ably and sealingly received inthe enlarged bore of partition. the fixture when said body portionextends through a References Cited port in a partition with said anchorflange portion 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS in contact w1th a rear face ofsuch partition; means on said fixture for locking said fixture against1,137,556 4/1915 Von Glahn 4 191 X rotation with respect to suchpartition; and 1,537,194 5/1925 Rogers 4191 X concealed but externallyaccessible locking means car- 1,552,501 9/1925 Panhorst 1,994,789 3/1935Redmond et al 4191 ried by the fixture for cooperating with the tubularm body portion to hold the fixture against axial move- I ment withrespect to the anchor element. PATRICK LAWSON [mm y 4. A vandalproofconcealed anchor plumbing fixture U S C1 XR as defined in claim 3,wherein said means for locking the fixture against rotation with respectto the partition de- 15

